The Next Sound You Hear

It started last week. As I settling in for a fine night's slumber I hear a sound. It was a chirp. Not a bird's chirp but the unfriendly chirping that can only mean that the battery on a smoke detector needs to be replaced. I played a game of hopping from room to room to find the offenders. I needed a 9V battery! Sadly, I found none. I even checked the alarm clocks in my bedroom and the guest rooms. Their batteries, it appeared, had been salvaged long ago. Cranky and exhausted I settled for an unhappy night of restless sleep.

The next day I stopped by the Walmart and picked up eight 9V batteries. When I got home I replaced the battery. Then I heard it again. How can a chirp annoy me so much? I replaced another battery. Satisfied, I returned the ladder back to the garage. About a half-hour later my ears were once again greeted with another chirp. At that moment I decided to replace all of the batteries in all of the smoke detectors. That is when I discovered I had nine detectors and eight batteries. Fortunately, the chirping went away when I replaced eight batteries.

On Sunday the last smoke detector decided to start chirping. No problem I thought. I replaced that last battery. Peace returned. The world was sunshine and roses once again.

Last night I was watching TV after a long work day when my friend the chirp returned to greet me. What?! I had replaced every single battery in every single detector. Or, so I had thought. In frustration I raced out to buy eight more batteries (backups are good). To my surprise I found there was a smoke detector in my furnace room. I had no idea! I have no less than ten smoke detectors in my house. Their batteries went down around the same time.

I felt great this morning after a comfortable night's sleep. What a difference undisturbed sleep makes.

Posted at 4:00 PM